Aspects

Planet Watch Week of July 28, 2013: Is the “star” of this week’s show, the Grand Sextile, aka Star of David, a portal to peace and love on a mass scale that many astrologers say it to be? While we are not versed in this event as well as we should be, we will try to explain, at least the technical part of this rare event. (Note: At the minimum it’s a fascination aspect and we encourage you to research it to learn more). In the meantime, here’s what’s happening: the Moon’s transit during a brief period of time on July 29 will trigger a six-point Star of David configuration between the Moon and 7 of the planets (only the Sun and Mercury aren’t involved). The Moon (emotion) will come into exact alignment with Venus (love) and Pluto (transformation) to form an Earth Grand Trine. This GT mates ever so briefly with the already-in-place Water Grand Trine that involves Jupiter (feel-good expansion), Neptune (spirituality) and Saturn (teacher) in such a way to form the six-pointed star.* Five points of the Star each represent a transiting planet and one point the Moon, and each of these in turn form a Sextile to the planets or Moon on either side of them. The integration of an Earth and Water Grand Trine is said to offer a portal of time where peace and love can flourish.

How might it affect you personally (or should we ask, how can you contribute to an enlightened mass consciousness)? First, it’s important to note that, while Trines and Sextiles are considered “easy” aspects, an opening of a door, if you will, to an opportunity, there are no guarantees. You don’t have to knock on that door…but you have to notice it’s open and then be curious (and for some, brave) enough to go in to see where the path leads. But as we all know, opportunities rarely manifest into a positive outcome without doing some work first. And so it is with these so called “easy” aspects, including those of the rare 2013 Grand Sextile.

If any of the above transits come into direct contact with your natal planets, you might be among the fortunate to operate at a higher vibration for a few hours on this day, starting about midday on July 29. It would seem that only good would come from thinking about positive thoughts and intentions for yourself and others close to you, so why not go ahead and make a conscious effort to put them “out there” — they might even filter into the mass consciousness.

We welcome input from any and all who might have further insight regarding the Grand Sextile.

*Note: that within this Star of David configuration there are other aspects that form oppositions and squares, but for the purpose of this post, we’ll stick to discussion of the Grand Sextile only.

A Uranus transit forming a hard aspect to your natal Sun, Moon, and/or Ascendant can be life-altering. …its shock can be difficult and the resulting awe isn’t easily apparent for most of us until viewed in hindsight.

If you are an Aries, Cancer, Libra, or Capricorn, you might have experienced or are experiencing sudden change — or the extreme urge for freedom — in a particular area of your life during the last few years. Manifestations of these unexpected changes or urges to set yourself “free” can range from job loss to ending/beginning of a close relationship, starting your own business, or refusing to go along with status quo, to name a few. Leaving you slightly traumatized and asking yourself, “What the heck just happened?” (If you were to be honest with yourself, however, you weren’t happy in that area of your life anyway!) It’s likely you can thank the Uranus transit of Aries for all the “fun”.

The seventh planet from our Solar System’s Sun has been transiting Aries since 2010/2011 and will be working its way through the first sign of the Zodiac until 2018/2019. As an outer planet, its affects are often on a societal scale. When paired with Aries (ruled by Mars, the planet of war and action), a sudden chaos can ensue, producing a sort of “shock-and-awe” effect. The last time these two paired together was over 80 years ago — during the Great Depression (shock) and the New Deal (awe). Some would argue today we are facing a similar scenario on a global scale with the financial woes (shock) that have been plaguing the world financial markets, forcing us to revolutionize our way of life through globalization, living within our means, etc. (awe).* We still have some years to go in this transit, so it will be interesting to see the outcome.

That said, a Uranus transit forming a hard aspect to your natal Celestial Bodies, especially to your Sun, Moon, or to your Ascendant can impact you personally on a global scale of its own in that it can be life-altering. Unfortunately, at least in the beginning, its shock can be difficult and the resulting awe isn’t easily apparent for most of us until viewed in hindsight. However, it usually is for the “better”. This particular transit is forming hard aspects to Cardinal Signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn). Those of you who have your Sun, Moon, or Ascendant in Aries or if the House Aries rules in your birth chart is angular (e.g. 1st House/ego, self; 4th/inner, family life; 7th/one-on-one relationships or 10th/career, public image). At the time of this writing, Uranus is at 12 degrees Aries and has been affecting those of you with your Sun, Moon and/or Ascendant in early degrees of the sign (8 to 12) for the last year or so. Essentially, Uranus has pulled up alongside that Celestial Body or angle it’s aspecting, forming a conjunction. Aries are not alone, however. Those of you with Capricorn, Cancer or Libra Sun, Moon and/or Ascendant have felt or will feel the punch, too, as Uranus forms a square (Caps and Cancers) or opposition (Libra) to these Cardinal Signs (For examples, see our “Uranus-Aries Hard Aspects” sidebar below).

“If there’s an area in your life that you are not satisfied with, or in which you feel stuck, this transit will give you the chance to change that.”

So what do these “growth” opportunities look like under the Uranus/Aries transit? Uranus, the ruler of that so-unusual Fixed Air Sign Aquarius, represents freedom, change, innovation, revolution, the sudden and unexpected, among other things. In transit it works to awaken or free us from areas in our life that have become mundane or static, or in which we feel stifled, trapped, stuck. In short, areas in need of change. Aries represents independence and new beginnings, and its Ruling Planet Mars represents action (not the gentle kind). Working in concert, this duo can orchestrate an electrical (Uranus also represents electricity) shock (Mars) to our systems that’s unlike no other combination if it forms a hard aspect with any of your CBs or your Ascendant. If there’s an area in your life that you are not satisfied with, or in which you feel stuck, this transit will give you the chance to change that.

Over the course of its transit of an astrological sign, Uranus visits the CB that’s in hard aspect three times, giving you plenty of chances to get the point. At the time of this writing, Uranus is about 12 degrees, so for those of you with any Cardinal CBs and/or your Ascendant between 8 and 12 degrees, your last round is near. Uranus goes retrograde July 17 (for more on what retrograde means, read our Pluto and Mercury Retrograde posts), giving you the third and final look at what needs to be changed, if you haven’t complied already, before stationing direct Dec. 17. Then it’s time for the Blue Planet to pay a visit to those Cardinal Signs who have their CBs or Ascendant in the middle degrees of Aries for a conjunction (and of Capricorn and Cancer for a square, and Libra for an opposition).

The best advice for those of you still under its influence and for those of you who have yet to encounter it: Take the “one-two-three” on the chin and go with the “blow”… or flow, as it were. You might be ever so reluctant to pay the initial price, but in the end you’ll look back and be “glad” you paid it. And if you don’t pay upfront, you just might feel like a missed opportunity passed you by and lifelong regret could end up being your only purchase.

*Note: we would be remiss within this post if we didn’t mention the current transit of Pluto (transformation) in Capricorn (government, finances) that’s forming a square to the Uranus/Aries transit and adding to the “color” of the Uranus/Aries transit, especially for the United States, which has a Cancer Sun. On a personal scale, if you a have CBs and/or Ascendant in Capricorn at 8-12 degrees, the Pluto-Uranus square could be “doubling the fun” for you. That Uranus/Aries induced “unexpected” change goes beyond the surface and is transforming or will transform your subterranean landscape. But we’ll save that for another post.

Uranus-Aries Hard Aspects Explained
Remember from our post Basic Architecture of a Birth Chart that conjunctions between CBs produce an intense focus or emphasis of energy between the CBs or angles in question, giving us the chance for improvement in the areas represented by the House in which its occurring; we tend to feel squares between CBs or angles as an inner tension or struggle, alerting us to an inner growth opportunity related to the Houses in which they reside. Oppositions, on the other hand, often form a sort of metaphorical tug-of-war that you must engage in, usually with or as the result of others, as it relates to the Houses/signs in which the CBs or angle reside. Below are brief examples of how each hard aspect might manifest, for the purpose of illustration. If you are feeling the transit, you’ll know!

Conjunction
If you have an Aries Sun in the 10th House, it did/is/will form a conjunction with the transit, causing you to focus on your career or how you interact with the public, maybe even a combination of the two. It could be that all of sudden you feel you’ve outgrown your current position and want to take a leadership role. If you can’t make it happen where you are, you could end up finding what you need elsewhere or starting a new endeavor on your own as the one in charge.

Sun Square
If you have a Capricorn or Cancer Sun in the 6th House, it did/is/will square Uranus-Aries in the 10th House. You might be feeling stuck or trapped in your career (10th House) and or bored with the monotony of daily work life (6th). This could manifest in a job loss or change requiring you to reevaluate your career direction and environment, or to start entirely fresh.

Moon Opposite
If you have a Libra Moon in the 3rd House, it was/is/will be opposite Uranus-Aries in the 9th House. As a result, the transit might cause an emotional conflict within a relationship resulting from a sudden desire by one of you to perhaps pursue a higher education (9th House) that involves having to move away, perhaps even to another state or country (9th House). Do you (or they) stay or go?

Ascendant Square
If you have a Capricorn or Cancer Ascendant, it did/is/will square the Uranus-Aries transit in the 10th House. Again, squares are usually felt as an inner struggle about the areas it’s aspecting. It’s all about you (Ascendant) and could manifest in restlessness, rebellion against the status quo, all to find the freedom or excitement you desire, regardless what others think. With the 10th House involved, you could suddenly decide to shake things up and reinvent your career, just for the sake of it.